TA Introductory Oceanography Course
Undergraduate course, Columbia University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2025
I was a teaching assistant for an introductory oceanography course, which aimed to explain concepts such as geostrophic circulation to a completely non-mathematical audience. My jobs included holding office hours and writing exam questions.
Course topics
- History of oceanography
- Ocean basins and plate tectonics
- Atmospheric dynamics and circulation
- Surface ocean circulation
- Deep ocean circulation
- Waves and tides
- Salinity and chemical composition of seawater
- Gases in seawater
- Marine carbonate chemistry and ocean acidification
- Plankton biogeochemistry and biodiversity
- Primary production and seasonal cycles
- Iron fertilization and the biological pump
- Nekton and fisheries
- Benthic life
- Hydrothermal vents and deep sea life
- Coral reefs
- Mangroves
- Arctic stakeholders’ negotiation case study
- El Niño Southern Oscillation
- Paleoceanography